Henry II, Duke of Guise

Henry II, Duke of Guise (4 April 1614-2 June 1664) was the Duke of Guise from 1640 to 1664, succeeding Charles, Duke of Guise and preceding Louis Joseph, Duke of Guise. He also served as Archbishop of Reims from 1629 to 1641, succeeding Gabriel Gifford and preceding Leonore d'Etampes de Valencay. In 1648, the Duke of Guise led the short-lived Neapolitan Republic.

Biography
Henry II, Duke of Guise was born in Paris, Kingdom of France on 4 April 1614, the second son of Charles, Duke of Guise. He became Archbishop of Reims at the age of fifteen, and he succeeded to the dukedom of Guise in 1640. In 1641, he fought against Cardinal Richelieu's French army at the Battle of La Marfee during the Franco-Spanish War, siding with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain as an ally of Louis de Bourbon-Soissons. In 1641, he was sentenced to death and his possessions confiscated for the crime of lese majeste. In 1643, he was reprieved, and he decided to join Masaniello's revolt in Naples in 1647. He was elected ruler of the Neapolitan Republic, but the tactless Henry alienated the Neapolitans, and he lost the support of the nobility. He was captured in 1648 when the republic fell, and he was imprisoned by Spain until 1652. In 1654, he made a second attack on Naples, but Robert Blake's English fleet prevented him from reconquering the city. Afterwards, he served as Grand Chamberlain of France to King Louis XIV of France, and he fell into debt. He died in 1664.